Insatiable by Opal Carew Read Free Book Online Page B

realize I shouldn’t have just walked away the way I did.”
    Crystal crossed her arms over her chest. “You think?”
    He gazed at her flashing eyes and wondered why she was angry at him, but he stayed focused on his purpose. “That’s why I’m here. To talk about what happened. To find out your side of the story.”
    Her eyes blazed brighter. “ My side of the story? You’re the one who didn’t show up for our wedding. You…” She sucked in a deep breath, then began to pace. “You abandoned me!”
    His heart clenched at the pain in her voice. “Aren’t you forgetting the part where Evan told you he’s in love with you, then you threw yourself into his arms and kissed him passionately?”
    She stopped pacing and stared at him with wide eyes. Then guilt washed across her face and she tore her gaze from him.
    “I saw the whole thing,” he said.
    She glanced at Evan—who refused to look in Brent’s direction—then back to Brent. “So that’s why you left.” She started wringing her hands together. “Oh, damn.” She sat down, perching on the end of the couch. “It’s true. Evan did tell me he loved me, but”—she gazed up at Brent—“you must have missed the part where I told him I was going to marry you !”
    Hope soared in him. “So you’re telling me you’re not in love with Evan?”
    At the look in her eyes, his hope came crashing down. He shook his head and glared at Evan, then back to her. “So you were going to marry me even though you have feelings for him?”
    “Brent, I didn’t really know my feelings for Evan until he said something.” She gazed down at her hands, folded in her lap. “I knew I was attracted to him, and I always felt guilty about that, but I figured that’s all it was. I ignored it.” She gazed at him again. “But I did know I was in love with you. Of course I was still going to marry you.”
    She was in love with him.
    “And now?” he asked. “Are you saying you have feelings for Evan now?”
    “When you left, Renee handled telling the guests what happened. She had Evan take me to the hotel so I wouldn’t have to face everyone. Evan helped me through the most difficult hours of my life after you abandoned me.”
    Brent’s heart clenched at the vulnerability in her eyes. Oh, God, he hadn’t realized how much he’d hurt her. And those desperate hours after being left alone at the altar, good old Evan had been there to pick up the pieces. Even if Crystal hadn’t loved Evan before, clearly she thought she did now.
    “Crystal, I’m sorry. My emotions got the best of me. I realize that now. I shouldn’t have walked away. That’s why I’m here. I love you. I just want to make things right again.”

 
    Seven
    Crystal frowned and glanced at Evan. The questioning look in his eyes, mixed with a sense of hopelessness, tore at her heart. Evan loved her. And she knew Brent loved her.
    She loved Brent, too, but she also had strong feelings for Evan. Feelings that could well be love. She just needed time to figure it out. To deny those feelings so she could marry Brent and pretend nothing had happened just wouldn’t work.
    Yet, knowing that Brent hadn’t simply changed his mind, hadn’t just walked away callously, meant something.
    But he had walked away.
    “Look, Brent. The fact that you left—”
    “But I explained that,” he appealed.
    “Yes, but you did leave. If you really loved me—”
    “I do.”
    She held up her hand. “If you really loved me, and were totally committed to making this relationship work, then you would have stayed. You would have talked to me, not just run away as soon as things went a little off track.” She stood up and walked toward him, staring hard into his eyes. “You should have talked to me.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “If we’d gotten married … how do I know that you wouldn’t just bail at the first sign of trouble?”
    Just as Gary had. Her ex-husband had never even been willing to talk about